A Split Second
by Sketchy33
Summary: What if Kakashi didn't kill Rin? What if she had mistimed her jump, and Kakashi had missed her? What if Obito never witnessed her death? How would that affect the Shinobi world? See how a split second can change the Shinobi world forever. (Rated T for language, violence, and future themes - may change to M)
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! I'm Sketchy, and this is my first fanfiction. I used to watch Naruto when I was a kid, but hadn't watched it for years until my friend got me back into it a few months ago. I'm not ashamed to say I binge watched almost every episode in Naruto and Shippuden(except some of those damn fillers :P) in about 8 weeks. It has definitely been one of my best decisions. I love the series.**

**At the same time, I wanted to change some parts of it. I liked a lot, but also thought it could have gone in a very different direction. So, I wanted to try writing a fanfiction. I have also always been fascinated by the idea of the butterfly effect. I thought it would be cool to see how one event could change the course of history.**

**Just FYI, the actual point of divergence occurs earlier, but this altered event is more important to the whole story, and will therefore be the event that I will focus on. I also plan to make a chapter, hopefully every week. I have some testing in May, but after that, school is basically over(hooray Senior Year!). Hopefully you guys will like this story. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any parts of Naruto. I just enjoy the series a lot and wanted to write a spinoff.

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_What if Kakashi didn't kill Rin? What if she had mistimed her jump, and Kakashi had missed her? How would that affect the Shinobi world? See how a split second can change the world forever._

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**Prologue**

It was getting dark out. The sun was dipping below the horizon, bathing the forest in a dark orange color. The leaves in the trees swayed in the evening breeze. The summer heat still hadn't quite dissipated, and the air was heavy, and hard to breathe. Everything seemed natural. Except it was quiet. Too quiet.

He looked around. 'Where the hell are all the animals?' He looked up. 'I don't see a single bird.' He looked back towards the hills that were in front of him. 'I don't like this.'

He launched off of the branch, propelling himself forward. The wind rushed back towards him. He could feel it buffeting him. There had to be enough time. He had to make it. His eye narrowed.

"Hey swirly! How far away are we?"

"Hmmm…about a mile away."

"A MILE!" He grimaced. "Can't we go any faster?"

There was only one body flying through the trees, but upon closer inspection, it could be seen that there was a person inside some kind of white casing, with a swirly white skin over his face, with an opening for an eye for the person inside the casing to see. Turns out that not only was the person in the white casing alive, but the white casing itself also seemed to be self-aware, and was able to speak. And the person seemed a bit perturbed at the casing.

The white casing sighed. "You're still weak. But we are going as fast as we can." It's voice was strange and high-pitched.

The person inside of the white suit was still pissed. He couldn't let his comrades, no, his friends, fall into enemy hands. He refused to let that happen. He had almost failed far too many times. He had always messed up. He was never good enough. But this time is going to be different.

Just then, a series of huge explosions rocked the ground to the north. The person in the white suit stopped and stared. He watched the previously non-existent birds rapidly take to the air to flee the scene, and even the animals this far away from the blast seemed worried. He could see them scurrying out of trees, running in the opposite direction. This wasn't good. He gripped the bark so hard it snapped, leaving him scrambling for a grip.

"Whoa there buddy! We're gonna fall if you keep doing that," the white casing snapped at the person inside him. After wobbling for a few seconds, the person inside the

"I don't care," the person snapped right back. He needed to get going. The person launched himself with renewed gusto towards the fight. He would not let any of his friends die. That was a promise he made to himself a long time ago, and one he intended to keep. Because Uchiha Obito never goes back on his word. That's his nindo, ninja way.

Where the hell do they keep coming from?

Kakashi tore his hand out of the Kirikigure ninja's chest. He'd already taken down over a dozen, but every time one was taken down, two more took his place. Kakashi grimaced. This was gonna take a while, if he even got out alive. He looked behind him. Rin was still hiding in a crevice between two rocks. At this point, the Kiri ninja didn't seem to care about her. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Something didn't add up. But he couldn't worry about that now. Another Kiri ninja was charging at him. Kakashi dodged two Kunai from the ninja and looked around. He spotted the three other chunin members of his team tied up in their own fights. Even after thinning out their numbers, they were all still outnumbered five to one. 'I better finish this quick.'

The Kiri ninja didn't last ten seconds. Kakashi charged at him, making the hand signs necessary for his killer technique. He had to admit, he didn't have many original jutsu; however, the one that he had came up with, was incredibly powerful. He barely needed any time to use it. The hand signs were easy, and just a slight gap in an enemy's defenses and he or she would be dead in an instant. In this case, the Kiri ninja, noticing Kakashi's speed, drew a kunai in order to defend himself, and flung two more at Kakashi. Kakashi easily dodged them and finished his hand signs. "Chidori!" Kakashi's right hand began to glow and chirp with electricity. The Chidori's characteristic sound was the reason it had been dubbed, "a thousand birds." Kakashi's lightning chakra nature allowed him to develop a lethal technique that was almost impossible to stop. The Kiri ninja didn't stand a chance. He hadn't even been able to move his kunai more than an inch when Kakashi had gotten inside of his guard and plunged his hand through his chest. The light faded from the Kiri ninja as he dropped his kunai and slumped to the ground. Kakashi pulled his hand out of the man's chest and then turned to survey the battlefield and find his next target.

The Kiri ninja were no match for his technique. Every time one of them left an opening, Kakashi went for a kill with his chidori. 'Enough gloating' Kakashi thought, as he shook his head and focused on his next target. He rushed back into the fray. Two more Kiri ninja fell and he was charging with chidori at a third who was off balance, when he noticed a shadow cross his sight line. Normally, chidori had a weak spot. By moving so quickly, the chidori only allowed you to focus on one point, giving you tunnel vision. It could be lethal if an opponent could dodge; you would be wide open. However, with Obito's sharingan, he was capable of still keeping an eye on everything that was happening. He had decided to lift up his headband and use the sharingan, since there were so many Kiri jonin and anbu, even though it would tire him out quite quickly. His sharingan had noticed the movement and the shadow, but it took him a second to register what was going on. He quickly deactivated his chidori, dodged, and grabbed the person responsible for the shadow. He jumped back towards the rocks.

"Rin, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Kakashi was fuming. The Kiri ninja had regained his footing and was charging back at them. "Stay here! You're not in fighting condition!" Kakashi turned to face the Kiri ninja but Rin grabbed him.

"Please Kakashi! There's something wrong with me! You have to do this!" Rin was basically sobbing at this point. Kakashi froze for a second but promptly shook off her hand and looked her dead in the eyes.

"I will not let you die Rin. I promised Obito I would protect you, and I intend to keep that promise." With that, Kakashi leaped back into the fight, promptly defeating the Kiri ninja and stabbing him in the chest with his chidori. Rin sank to her knees. With that, she pulled out a kunai, and shakily brought it to her own throat.

Kakashi saw her movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes shot open, and he reached towards her. 'What is she doing? Is she actually going to kill herself? I have to stop her, but I'll never make it in time.' Kakashi started opening his mouth to yell, but he was promptly cut off by a blur, which zipped by him and tackled Rin.

Startled, Kakashi had to take a second to take in the new scene. Some unknown ninja, since only shinobi could move that fast, had tackled Rin and the two of them were currently sliding along the ground.. Kakashi looked closer at the new shinobi. The newcomer had a cloak on, but that wasn't the reason he couldn't see the guys face. He was covered head to toe in some kind of white goo. Kakashi quickly went through his options. He could charge at the guy, he could wait and see what the guy was going to do, or he could abandon Rin and focus on the Kiri ninja who wanted to cut his head off. Kakashi snorted. 'I guess I have no choice.' He had just stopped her from getting killed by a Kiri ninja by jumping into a fight. He would not let her die just a minute later from some random guy. Kakashi, aware of the promise to Obito he had just mentioned, activated his chidori again and started charging at the newcomer

He was charging towards the newcomer, intent on eliminating the new threat, when he realized the figure wasn't killing Rin. He was merely kneeling over her. 'Oh, what the hell. Does it matter? I have to protect Rin. I will keep my promise to Obito.' He increased the speed of his charge, screaming at the top of his lungs. The figure was reaching up towards his neck. 'Did he have a kunai? Was he going to stab her? Will I make it in ti…' Kakashi's thoughts stopped, as did his charge. '…There's no way…'

Rin hadn't expected to be tackled. Kakashi was too far away to do anything, and there were no other ninja. She had figured out what they had done to her. She knew what she was, and what she had to do to protect the village. But someone, or something, had whizzed out of the woods around the clearing and tackled her without warning. They had been flung backwards and skidded to a stop about twenty feet beyond where she was originally.

Rin was so surprised that she couldn't even say anything. She had the air knocked out of her, so she couldn't scream when she saw who, or what, tackled her. It was a white figure, in a black cloak, with a white face with a spiral that ended in small hole with a sharingan staring out from behind it. Rin opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Whether it was fear, surprise, or merely resignation to her fate, Rin's body wouldn't move. 'Had someone in the village figured out the reason why I had been kidnapped? Had they sent someone to kill me? Was he going to use some sharingan power to put me under a spell? Or rip the beast out of me?' Whatever the case, it would almost certainly end with her dead. She couldn't go back to the village, and if they had sent an assassin, especially an Uchiha, the village must know that too. She had heard the legends of some of the Sharingan's powers, and she knew they could be used to subdue people like her. So she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"RIN! RIN! It's ME! OBITO!"

Time seemed to stop. Everything was moving slowly, except for Rin's mind. Her eyes shot open. 'That voice. It couldn't be. How is that even possible? No, it's not. He's dead. You know that. Stop hallucinating. He's not coming back.' The thoughts went rushing through her head. She hadn't heard that voice in months. It couldn't be real. How is that even possible? But she couldn't stop herself from looking at the figure. Doing so even helped her clear her head. 'How could this be Obito? Sure, it had a sharingan. But plenty of people have sharingans. Every member of the uchiha clan has a sharingan. Not to mention the fact that this strange figure didn't even have a face and was covered in some kind of white, gooey casing.

"You're not Obito. You're not even human." Rin struggled to say. But she could have almost swore she saw hurt in the sharingan, before the eye widened. 'What now? A genjutsu? If you're going to kill me just do it, or let me do it. At least that way the village will be safe.' Rin was about to start crying again before the figure started talking.

"No it really is me, Rin!" 'How the hell did it know my name? Then again, it was much faster than Kakashi, and it was probably sent to kill me.' Rin still looked up into the eye, and watched as it grabbed at a part of its neck. 'What the he…' Rin never finished that thought. Because when the figure pulled its neck, the skin sprung open. Rin saw a ghost.

Staring down at her, smiling, was Obito Uchiha. Yeah, the goggles were gone, and the right side of his face was messed up, and there was no left eye, but the same hair, the same facial expression. It was Obito. Rin's mouth started moving but nothing came out. And it was about time Obito revealed himself, since Kakashi was charging at him with a chidori, intent on keeping his promise to the very same figure he saw kneeling over Rin.

Kakashi himself was so stunned he just stopped dead in his tracks. Kakashi had taken Obito's death harder than anyone else. Whatever he said about Obito, Kakashi still felt he was not just a comrade, but a friend. Their last mission together, which ended in Obito's death, was a total failure. Obito had saved Kakashi from a boulder, and then given Kakashi his own left eye. A part of Obito lived on in Kakashi, and Kakashi felt a debt to his dead friend, to follow in his footsteps. Now, though, he was staring at his friend. A little older, no goggles, and a slightly messed up face, but his friend nonetheless. Obito.

Obito had noticed Kakashi standing there, so stunned he couldn't even move. It had been months since they had seen each other, and Obito cocked his head and smiled.

"Hey Kakashi! Long time no see haha!" Obito smiled and scratched the back of his head. Kakashi didn't know what took over at that point, but he charged right at Obito grabbed him by the weird white things sticking out around his neck and shook him.

"OW! THAT HURTS!" It seemed the white thing itself could talk, but Kakashi didn't care. He was…outraged.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME OBITO? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALTZ BACK IN HERE AFTER WHAT YOU DID? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! WE WERE GRIEVING! AND YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT ALL OKAY BY JUST SAYING 'LONG TIME NO SEE' AND SMILING?" Kakashi was visibly shaking at this point. Rin was just as stunned but hadn't said much since Obito revealed himself. She was too overwhelmed.

"Kakashi, you don't need to…" Rin trailed off, because she didn't need to say anything. Kakashi was shaking, and seemed angry, but she could see now what was happening. Tears were running down his face. Obito seemed surprised at the outburst, but Rin wasn't sure his eye could go any wider when Kakashi smothered him in a hug. Obito was so stunned, it took him a few seconds to be able to reciprocate the hug. Kakashi leaned in towards Obito's ears.

"Don't you ever do that again." Kakashi whispered in a voice Obito didn't even realize Kakashi had. 'Did I really mean this much to them?' Obito closed his eyes and embraced Kakashi. 'I made the right choice. That old guy was wrong. This is where I belong.'

It took a while for Kakashi to finally separate from Obito, but when he did, they both looked around. A number of Kiri ninja were seemingly waiting to see what the new addition to their enemies was able to do. Anyone could feel the tension in the air as both sides sized each other up. Obito stood up and stared back at them.

"Hey swirly, you ready for this?" Obito addressed no one in particular. To an uninformed viewer, it seemed he was just talking to himself. But it was difficult for them to realize that the white suit he had on was living as well…well, it was sentient at least. "Living" was a debate for another time.

"I have a name you know?" Kakashi almost fell on his butt when he realized that the white suit was talking. Not only could it talk, but it seemed quite indignant at the idea that Obito was calling it "swirly." Obito didn't seem fazed at all though.

"Well then what the hell is your name? I've called you Swirly this whole time." Obito was talking to Swirly, but he was scanning the environment, pinpointing the enemy positions, who had what weapons. He had seen a small part of the fight before he had rushed into stop Rin from killing herself. His mind started to wander back to that incident but he shook his head to clear his mind and focus. He could think about that later. Right now, he had to protect his friends.

"My name is Tobi." The white suit still seemed more caught up on the name than the fact that a group of Kiri ninja were coming at them, seemingly with the intent to kill. Obito laughed and shook his head.

"Alright then Tobi, let's do this." Tobi seemed to agree, since Obito felt the suit tense around him.

Obito was so focused on the Kiri ninja that he didn't hear Kakashi approach him from behind.

"Alright Obito. You take the four on the left. I'll take the…"

"No." Kakashi jumped at the strength in Obito's refusal. "But Obito, we need to…" Kakashi stammered out.

Obito shook his head. "No Kakashi. You need to stay with Rin. I don't know what's wrong with her, but if I hadn't gotten here, she would have killed herself. I can't let her do that. _We _can't let her do that. You promised to protect Rin, and you have. And I am grateful. But now, I need you to protect Rin from herself. Please Kakashi."

Kakashi looked over his old teammate. 'Something is definitely different, besides the weird white thing that's on him and can talk.' He shook his head and looked back at Rin. She was still staring at Obito. His appearance hadn't seemed to sink in yet for her. 'But still…' Kakashi sighed. Obito was right. For some reason he didn't understand, Rin wanted to take her own life, something he refused to let happen. He glanced out of the side of his eye toward Obito.

"You sure you can do this?" Kakashi didn't want to lose Rin, but he also didn't want to lose Obito so soon after finding out he was alive. He couldn't deal with that pain again. _He'd _ probably kill himself. But Obito seemed more determined than any time he had known him. And calmer too.

Obito smirked. "I got this." He leaned forward, eyes scanning the crowd, and then was off in a blur.

The Kiri ninja didn't see it coming. With the combination of his sharingan, and the obvious benefits of Tobi's stronger body helping him, Obito moved faster than the Kiri could react. He took down three before the rest could even think of retreating. But it wasn't his speed or strength that made Kakashi's jaw hit the ground, it was the _way_ he defeated them. Because sticking out of multiple parts of Obito's body, were spikes of wood.

Kakashi had learned about wood release a long time ago. It was a kekkai genkai, a bloodline trait, used by the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. It was extremely powerful, but could never be used by others. And yet, here was his friend, an Uchiha, the Senju's historic enemy, using the wood release. Rin somehow looked even more shocked. Although it was difficult to tell if she was actually watching the battle or still in shock from seeing one of her closest friends resurrected.

Within a minute, the battle was almost over. The ground was covered in blood, which seemed to almost have a sickly red glow, as the moonlight reflected off of it. The bodies of the defeated Kiri ninja were strewn around Obito, who stood in the middle of the battlefield. There was only one Kiri ninja left, and he was visibly shaking. Then again, that wasn't surprising considering Obito had relished taking down his comrades as viciously as possible. Obito, on the other hand, looked malevolent, as the blood of his enemies had turned much of Tobi red, matching Obito's sharingan, which flashed in the moonlight.

'Nine down. One to go.' Obito locked eyes with the final remaining Kiri ninja. He could see the fear in the ninja's eyes as he scanned for an escape. Obito almost felt pity for this man. Almost. Instead, Obito's lip curled. 'He tried to kill my friends and he thinks I'm going to let him get away?' Obito was pissed. He'd killed the last nine ninja ruthlessly. He had no mercy. Gone were the old days of him unable to do anything. And gone were the days he couldn't protect his friends. He was Uchiha Obito. And he would _obliterate_ anyone who so much as laid a finger on Rin or Kakashi.

'How the hell did he do that?' Kakashi stared at Obito, standing over the final Kiri ninja. The other chunnin on Kakashi's team had gotten out with many injuries, but they were okay. But he was less interested in them, and more interested in the kid pulling a spike made of wood out of the chest of a dead man. 'What happened to you Obito?'

Obito didn't notice Kakashi's expression. But he did glance around the clearing to make sure there were no more enemies before he turned and walked back over to Kakashi and Rin. There were no other Kiri ninja left. The three chunnin that had accompanied Kakashi were together, with two tending to the wounds of a third. The third seemed to be in pretty bad condition. Obito would have gone over to help, had he not been preoccupied with Rin. 'Why would she try to kill herself?' Obito still didn't fully understand the situation, but he couldn't stop thinking about the test subjects Tobi and the other white guys were talking about. His eyes narrowed. 'What is going on?'

But his train of thought was stopped when Rin charged at him and hugged him so hard he fell to the ground and had all the air knocked out of his lungs. Obito was so stunned, that it took his lungs screaming for air for him to react.

"Rin…I can't…breathe." Obito struggled out, as Rin crushed him in a bear hug. Hearing this, she quickly let him go and held him at arm's length. She inspected him, and her eyes rested on his face, especially his now empty left eye-socket and the right side of his face, which still had a strange texture and look due to the special cells that the old guy had implanted in him. She seemed lost for words, but before Obito could say anything,…

"Obito."

Rin had tears in her eyes. Obito had started to tear up as well. Just that one word was necessary. Nothing else had to be said. Rin may not have been as interested in Obito as she was in Kakashi, but she still saw him as a friend, and enjoyed spending time with him. Rin reached up and placed her hand on Obito's face. Obito, surprised, leaned into her hand. She traced her fingers down the right side of his face, feeling the new skin, which seemed artificial. 'What is this?' Rin was confused, but she honestly didn't care. Obito was back. Both her friends were okay. She drew Obito back into a hug, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tight.

Obito hadn't expected either Kakashi or Rin to react this way. He always thought he was the reject. The dead-last, never good enough, perpetual sidekick of the great Kakashi. They had seemed upset when he had been crushed under the boulder, but he thought that was how everyone felt when you lost a fellow ninja. But now he realized: that's how you react when you lose a _friend_. He held Rin closer and nestled his face in her hair. He closed his eyes and just savored the moment, being this close to Rin.

Kakashi had still not fully recovered from Obito's sudden appearance. After Obito's death, he had gone into a deep depression, unable to even leave his own apartment for a week due to the pain of the loss. It had taken months for Kakashi to accept that his friend was dead. In fact, it was only recently that he had stopped seeing his face in posters around Konoha, or hearing his voice coming from empty alleys. He still didn't trust his eyes, but if Rin accepted Obito being back…well, he could too.

Kakashi stepped forward. He didn't want to interrupt Obito and Rin's moment. He knew Obito liked Rin, and Obito clearly enjoyed that Rin was so happy he returned. Honestly, Kakashi was just as happy, if not moreso, that Obito was back; he just had difficulty expressing it. Kakashi had lost his parents early, and even though he criticized Obito constantly, he still thought of Obito as a brother. So it was barely a second after Rin had let go of Obito that Kakashi lunged forward and crushed his friend in another bear hug.

Obito's eyes already looked too wide to be human, but as Kakashi started to speak, it also seemed his eyebrows were attempting to defect to his hairline. "Obito. I'm so happy you're alive. I…I couldn't believe you were dead. I kept seeing your face and hearing your voice everywhere I would go." Tears were streaming down Kakashi's face as he started choking his words. "Don't you ever die on me again Obito. I don't think I could bear that." Kakashi was shaking, while Obito seemed to have finally found his voice, even though he too was crying at this point. He looked at the spiky white hair and trademark facemask of his friend, and smiled.

"Thank you Kakashi. And don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I will protect my comrades no matter what. I promise."

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**Wow! That was really enjoyable to write! I hope to get at least one of these out each week. I'm hoping to make this a really long series, tracking everone's adventures. Anyways, follow/favorite if you enjoyed and please give me any constructive criticism in the comments! This is my first fanfiction and I'd be grateful if any of you guys pointed out a mistake! Thanks again!**


	2. I'm in Hell

**Hey guys! I'm back! This chapter is slightly longer than the last one. I wanted to continue it, but unfortunately I have a bit too much work, and I wanted to publish something this weekend.**

**Once again, this is my first fanfiction, so all constructive criticism is encouraged. It seriously helps guys, so thank you, and keep it up!**

**Also, some characters' personalities may seem a little off right now, but that's because we haven't had a ton of time exploring most of the characters' backstories, which I will do in further chapters. So, for now, just enjoy. **

**Also, I'm still not 100% clear on the current timeline, so I did my best, and moved some events to where I needed them to be to fit the story.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this story, and actually have an outline of it going all the way up to Naruto's chunin exams. So, tell me how you guys like it. Please follow and/or favorite if you enjoyed. Thanks again!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related content.**

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**I'm in Hell**

1:30 AM - Clearing inside Land of Fire

The clearing was bathed in the sickly light of a full moon. The corpses of the dead Kiri ninja had been moved to the side of the clearing, but the stench of their rotting bodies still lingered in the air. The blood hadn't fully dried yet either, leaving parts of the clearing slippery with reminders of the battle just fought. A group of Chunin from Konoha was patrolling the edges of the clearing, where it met the forest, letting the three younger ninja be alone, towards the middle of the clearing.

It had taken a while before Kakashi and Rin had let Obito go. They had smothered him so much that Obito was questioning whether or not he had come back or if he was dreaming. Because while Obito tried to put on a tough façade, all he wanted was to be accepted. He had grown up as an orphan and he didn't know the love of a mother or father. He had ended up being a failure to the Uchiha clan. Unable to awaken his sharingan, and finishing last in his class, many Uchihas ignored him as well. He was ridiculed inside the walls of the Uchiha compound. So much so, in fact, that he had actually bought his own apartment a few blocks away. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had been very sympathetic to his plight, even though he was a failure and Sarutobi was the "God of Shinobi." He had become close to the Third Hokage in recent months, but it still didn't replace family, or friends.

That was why he had worked so hard. The biggest thing he had wanted was for Kakashi and Rin to accept him for who he was. Rin had from the beginning. Obito smiled at the thought. He still remembered being late and rushing to the academy…only to find out he had missed the orientation. He was so dejected, until a cute girl with brown hair handed him the papers he needed. He hadn't even asked, and she didn't seem to care he was late. It was the nicest thing someone had done for him that week.

Ever since then, he had loved her, and constantly worked to impress her. And while she was definitely one of his closest friends, she was far more interested in Kakashi. Obito grimaced a little on the inside. Kakashi, while a friend and teammate, was also his rival and nemesis. Kakashi was a Jonin. He was successful, followed all the rules, was never late, and never failed at anything. He was the closest thing to a perfect shinobi that he knew. Except for maybe Minato-sensei and the Hokage. He knew Kakashi would almost certainly become as powerful as those two when he grew up. And now that he had a sharingan, no, _his_ sharingan, he knew Kakashi could be even more powerful than either of them.

There was a part of him that wanted so badly to be angry, but he knew this was not the time for jealousy. Kakashi and Rin could have easily just moved on and told him they didn't need him anymore. But they had accepted him. They had wanted him back. And to be honest, that was all that mattered.

Kakashi still wasn't sure whether or not he was dreaming. His friend had seemingly come back to life, and though he had some weird skin around him, he was still alive and here. And though he would never admit it, underneath his mask, he couldn't stop smiling.

The campfire in the middle of the clearing sent tendrils of light out to the edges of the forest, where the trees swayed in the breeze, and the Chunin continued their silent patrol. The campfire also illuminated the faces of the three kids sitting on logs around it, casting shadows that obscured their hidden thoughts.

The three of them hadn't said much in the past half-hour. After reuniting, defeating the Kiri ninja, cleaning the battlefield, and setting up camp, they were exhausted. In fact, in some ways, the silence was comforting. Just a shared moment between friends. No words were needed. However, that doesn't mean that no words were said.

"So, uh, what are we gonna do now?"

Kakashi and Rin jolted upwards and stared at Obito. The voice was too high pitched for him. It took a second before the realization kicked in.

"Oh yeah, that thing can talk." Kakashi still didn't like the whole idea of some weird thing being stuck over Obito. Obito just sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Haha yeah." 'This is great. I completely forgot this thing was still on me.' Obito stared down at the white skin that protruded around his neck. One of the weird tendrils had moved and now seemed to be pointed directly at him. Almost like it was looking at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, are you going back or not?" Obito's eyes shot open. 'Shit, I completely forgot about that. That old guy wants me to come back.' Obito looked around. He met Kakashi's and Rin's eyes, and a small grin crept on to his face. 'Yeah, I'm not going back.'

But while Obito was considering the question, Kakashi and Rin were even more confused.

"Go back?" Rin seemed bewildered. "Where are you going?"

Obito sighed. _This was not going to be easy._ "I told you guys, some old guy saved me and brought me to this cave. That's where I met Tobi. That's also where he somewhat patched up my body."

"And…you want to go back?" Rin wasn't sure what was going through Obito's head, but all she wanted was to make sure that she didn't lose him again. Team Minato had just gotten back together. She wouldn't let it fall apart in the same day. But still…

"You want to leave us?"

"NO!" Obito seemed to be shocked out of his inner thoughts. The hurt in Rin's voice had been too obvious for anyone to miss. He looked at her, hoping to catch her eye to show her his genuine desire to stay. He realized he had hesitated, but that was more due to trying to find the right words. In the end, Obito could only look down at his lap and tell the truth. "You guys are my best friends in the world. I wouldn't leave you two for anything."

Rin and Kakashi had both looked up at the heartfelt gesture. Kakashi knew Obito had always liked Rin, but he also knew he had never been very, um, friendly, to Obito. He had always been rather combative and pretty much looked down at Obito quite a bit. He regretted a lot of those actions now.

Obito still looked at his lap as he recalled the events in the cave. "This guy saved my life. He gave me a new body. In fact, Tobi helped me train my new body. I was pretty weak at first, but now, my body's back to close to its original strength."

Rin and Kakashi only looked even more lost, but they both seemed to come to the same realization at the same time.

"Wait, so what does your real body look like?" Rin questioned tentatively. Rin had seen the boulder. She knew the extent of the damages to Obito's body. She still wasn't sure how he had survived. But now Obito was saying that his body was repaired somehow.

Obito was going to explain, if it wasn't for Tobi deciding it was time to butt in.

"Obito," Tobi drawled out in the same way a parent would speak to a distracted child. Let it be known that Obito did not appreciate this in the slightest.

"If you aren't coming, I need to get back and report what happened and your decision to the boss." While Obito sat there, the skin started to remove itself from his body. Kakashi and Rin watched in slight disgust at the bizarre sight, as the white skin slowly moved off of Obito's body and rebuilt itself about a foot or two away. By the end, Obito was still sitting there in robes that no longer fit him as well, while a white figure, a few inches taller than Obito with the same swirly face that had covered Obito's own earlier.

"I AM TOBI!" The figure proclaimed to the world, as the birds squawked in annoyance at the disturbance. Obito tied his robes closer to his body so that they fit better and stood up. He and Tobi now stood staring at each other. It took a few seconds before Obito extended his hand.

"Thank you Tobi. I wouldn't have been able to save my friends without you."

Tobi seemed to be surprised by the act of kindness, but not too surprised to quickly shake Obito's hand and dash off. The three young ninja watched the weird white figure disappear in the trees.

Kakashi and Rin turned back to Obito, but it took a bit for them to realize something was missing from their friend.

"OBITO! WHERE IS YOUR ARM!" Rin yelped as she rushed to Obito's side. One of his cloak's sleeves was empty. Rin quickly peeled it back to reveal a white stump sticking out where his arm used to be. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Kakashi too quickly rushed to Obito's side, as they both inspected Obito's body for damage. They both were intrigued by the white substance that seemed to make up part of his body. Obito sighed.

"I told you that that old guy in the cave fixed me up. Well, he used this weird white stuff. I just woke up with it on me. I don't remember what he said about it. He told me something but I forget." Obito furrowed his brow as he tried to remember, but couldn't quite grasp his memories. "Anyways, I used to have an arm, but the old guy blocked the entrance to the cave with a boulder. After I heard that you guys were in trouble, I wanted to get out so badly, I just charged the boulder and tried to punch it with my new arm." Obito curled his left arm into a fist. "My arm wasn't strong enough. It broke off, and I couldn't break the boulder. But Tobi decided to grant me his power, wrapping himself around me, and helped me get out."

Kakashi and Rin listened with rapt attention. They were both still quite curious as to how Obito could survive a boulder falling on him.

Kakashi was still confused. "Wait, but how did you actually survive the boulder falling on top of you?"

Obito scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I have no idea. But the old guy told me that it just went through me or something like that." Kakashi and Rin stood there, soaking it in, until Kakashi slapped Obito on the back.

"Good job buddy! You broke the laws of physics! You'll be more famous than Minato-sensei!" All three of them chuckled at that one, as Obito grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess." While Kakashi seemed to have moved on from Obito's appearance, Rin had moved from Obito's stump of a right arm, to his face, where the right side also was somewhat deformed.

Her hand stroked the side of his face, and Obito couldn't help himself to lean into the gesture a little bit. Her hand was small, but it was warm, and comforting. Rin didn't pull away, and that was all that mattered in that moment.

"Is this made of the same stuff as your arm?" Rin was still feeling Obito's face, and even aloof Kakashi fidgeted a little, uncomfortably. Obito nodded. Rin continued her inspection of Obito.

"Does it hurt?" The concern in Rin's voice was evident. Obito was quite happy that she cared so much about him. He shook his head. Rin nodded, evidently relived at his answer. After another minute or two, she pulled her hand away, which Obito highly disliked.

Now, the three ninja stood silently in the moonlight, looking at each other. No one moved for a few seconds, before Rin grabbed her chest, fell to her knees, and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

1:45 AM – Konohagakure – Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was doing paperwork. There was nothing in the world he enjoyed less. It was only his willpower that stood in the way of him making the necessary hand signs and burning the papers sent from the depths of hell itself to ashes. That and the group of Anbu guarding who wouldn't be very pleased either.

Sarutobi grumbled under his breath, "Maybe if the damn Daimyo stopped with those silly frivolous dances and actually did something, then…" He stopped and looked out the window. He could feel his Anbu tense up as well. Something was wrong. Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. Very wrong.

2:00 AM – Clearing inside Land of Fire

Kakashi and Obito were in shock, trying to help their teammate who was writhing on the ground in pain. Rin had just collapsed, and was now clutching her chest, and rocking back and forth in the fetal position, sobbing and hurling bloodcurdling screams at the sky. The three other chunin, seeing the girl in pain, rushed over, but they too were at a loss for words. One of them was a medic, but he couldn't get close enough to her to try and diagnose her pain.

Kakashi and Obito had no idea what to do. Rin had seemed fine, although a little off during the battle. She had been just as happy as Kakashi that Obito was back. She had helped make the camp and start the campfire. Nothing seemed wrong.

So nothing could prepare her two young teammates for her current situation. The two young ninja and three other chunin looked on helplessly as the young girl writhed uncontrollably.

"We're going to have to hold her down." Kakashi's eyes snapped to the medic ninja. He didn't look much older than himself. His eyes narrowed.

"I am the jonin, and commanding office on this mission. I will decide…"

"IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING, SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" The outburst was uncharacteristic of the quiet medic ninja. The other two chunin's eyebrows were raised, and even Kakashi seemed a little surprised. The medic ninja took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I am the medical ninja on this mission. It is my responsibility to make sure that none of you die or are seriously injured. Clearly, our teammate is in pain. In order to help her, I need to first know her condition. I can't help her if I don't even know what I treat." The medical ninja was now looking directly at Kakashi, his brown eyes boring into Kakashi's dark ones. Kakashi looked down at Rin. He couldn't bear to see her in anymore pain. He wanted to comfort her so badly, if he could even get close to her at all. He grimaced.

"What do we do?"

The medic ninja nodded. "We must subdue her, at least for a little bit. I need all of you to help hold her down."

Obito gulped. This wasn't going well. But he had to help Rin no matter what. He looked over at Kakashi, and they both shared a silent moment, before nodding their heads. Obito turned back towards Rin, swallowed and braced himself.

The medic ninja held up his hand. "Wait." His eyes tracked Rin's movements, waiting for an opening. It only took five seconds, but to everyone else, it felt like an eternity.

"GO!" Four shinobi lunged at Rin, pinning down her arms and legs. Even though she was smaller and lighter than all of them, they had to put all of their strength into their goal, because Rin was writhing so violently. Obito grimaced. _She almost seems…possessed. _Obito shook his head, dispelling the thought and focusing on the task at hand. The medical chunin had jumped in right after the other four had held her down, injecting her with a heavy dose of sedative. While Rin relaxed a little, she was still jerking back and forth, and the medical ninja needed her to be still for his work. The four ninja held her down with all their strength, able to subdue her for a few moments as the medical ninja completed a very quick diagnosis. Obito wasn't sure he could be more worried about the situation until he saw the medical ninja's face. He looked terrified.

_Shit. This is bad. _He looked over at Rin from the arm that he was pinning to the ground. _Really bad._

The medical ninja injected Rin with another dose of heavy sedative, causing Rin to almost entirely stop moving, and ordered the other ninja to tie her limbs down. Obito, Kakashi, and the two other Chunin followed his orders to the tee, unwilling to lose one of their own. They then made their way over to the campfire, where the medical ninja was massaging his temples.

Kakashi and Obito sat down across from the was the first one to speak.

"How is she?"

The chunin looked up, and Obito could virtually see the defeat in his eyes. The lump in his throat tripled in size.

"She's not doing well. At all. She's critical. I don't even know what's wrong. I detected strange signatures of foreign chakra in her system, but I don't know the source nor the nature of the chakra, so I can't do anything." The ninja put his head in his hands. "I have trained my entire life for situations like this. And the first one I get into I can't do a damn thing." The ninja punched the ground below him out of frustration. Obito didn't move, but he was doing mental jumping jacks. Because he could remember some things he had heard from Tobi. _Foreign chakra. Test subjects. Rescue mission. Kirigakure. _Even Kakashi had noticed Obito's pensive face, mostly because Kakashi had never seen such an expression on Obito's face. Not even once.

But Obito had come to a conclusion. "Hey, medic ninja." The brown-eyed chunnin looked up. Now that he was near the campfire and Obito wasn't focused on his teammates, he noticed other details about the shinobi. He was about average height, with medium length dark hair, probably black, and he had a slim build. Right now, he seemed defeated and dejected, but he had seen the battle earlier. This ninja relied on his flexibility and maneuverability to get around his enemies and avoid their blows. Just like a true medical ninja. He also seemed quiet and pensive, although he wasn't sure if that was nerves since it seemed like this was his first mission as a medical ninja.

"Yes?" The medical ninja was intrigued by the new addition to the team. Apparently, Kakashi and their target, who they called Rin, were two of his teammates. Also, this guy had just appeared out of nowhere, and the other two seemed quite surprised about that as well. But it didn't really matter right now. All that mattered was that he was failing his first mission as a medical ninja.

"What's your name?" Obito asked. The chunin looked a little apprehensive, sharing his name with a stranger, but gave up with a sigh and acquiesced.

"Mazawa Toshie."

"Hello Toshie. My name is Uchiha Obito. It's a pleasure to meet you." Toshie looked up, surprised by the act of kindness in such a dire situation. He was useless, but this guy still didn't look down on him. A small grin crept onto Toshie's face. Maybe they could figure something out. He looked over at the young girl. They had tied her down and given her multiple doses of sedatives, but she was still restless and twitched frequently. He didn't know exactly what was wrong with her, but he could feel the presence of…something.

"Nice to meet you too Obito."

Obito nodded. This guy seemed pretty cool.

"So, could you go over what you found again?" Obito was hoping he could piece together all the information he had acquired. He knew he was missing something.

Toshie began to go through everything he had found again. She was critical. Her body was deteriorating quickly. Her chakra coils were acting strangely, seizing up, and spasming. And…

"I detected signatures of foreign chakras in her system. One was very strong, but it seemed to be muffled somehow. Like it was behind a seal or something." Toshie and Obito both frowned. Neither one of them understood what was going on. But Obito had an idea.

"When I was coming here, Tobi told me that the other guruguru were talking about Rin, and had said something about test subjects." He glanced over at his friend, still jerking back and forth occasionally. "What if they…did something…to Rin?" Obito didn't want it to be true. But if a trained medical ninja couldn't do anything, and didn't understand what was wrong, perhaps they had done something to Rin in Kirikagure.

Kakashi, too, didn't want anything to be wrong with Rin. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something _was_ wrong. Why would she try to jump in front of his chidori, and then try to stab herself with a kunai? Something had to be up.

Toshie too was uncomfortable. Even though he was young, he had always loved the hospital. Most people dread that place, but he was there almost every day. He liked helping people. He would get the bandages for the nurses. They eventually became so used to him that they gave him a badge and nametag, and always greeted him. His parents had to almost physically drag him out of the building every night. During that time, he had seen a lot of illnesses. But nothing like this. He was almost positive there was some sort of seal inside of the girl. But he had to test his hypothesis.

"All of you. I need your help, one more time." The other four ninja turned to Toshie.

"I need to try and diagnose what kind of illness she has. I may not know the specific one, but if I can determine what family it is in, one of us can get back to the village and bring the right people. Got it?" Kakashi, Obito, and the two other chunin nodded again. They moved over to Rin, and held her arms and legs down again. Toshie activated his mystical palm, and scanned her body. His brow furrowed when his hand was over her torso. He hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled away. He nodded to the other four, and they too let go of Rin and moved towards Toshie.

The young medic ninja was clearly deep in thought. His brow was furrowed, and he had actually produced a scroll and was writing on it. After about a minute, Toshie finally broke the silence.

"Something is sealed inside her. I don't know what. But I do know that the seal is corrupted. It is rapidly breaking down, and whatever it is holding is harming the girl. We need a seal expert in order to save her." Toshie did not know any sealing expert. He was into medical matters, not fuinjutsu. That was not his specialty. Fortunately, Obito and Kakashi knew someone who could help.

"Minato-sensei!" They both cried out simultaneously. Toshie looked at them.

"The…Yellow Flash?" The two boys nodded. "He was your sensei?" No wonder they both seemed so strong. They had been able to take out more Kiri ninja as a team of two, than the other three chunin had. And even though he was a medic ninja first, his knowledge of the human body could come in handy during a battle.

Obito stood up. "I'll go." Kakashi looked like he was going to protest, but Obito looked him dead in the eyes. "Kakashi, you promised me to protect Rin. I need you to keep that promise now. I will go back and find Minato-sensei and bring him here." Kakashi grumbled, but sat down again. Obito nodded towards Toshie and the other two chunin, then turned and started sprinting towards Konoha.

He reflected on the current situation. What he at first thought was just a rescue mission gone wrong, had turned into a disaster. He could take down a group of enemy ninja easily. But he was not prepared for Rin to be in circumstances this dire. He gritted his teeth and only increased his speed. His partly artificial leg, surprisingly, seemed to be stronger than his natural leg. It was almost like his artificial body used much less energy than his normal body.

But that didn't matter right now. The only thing that mattered was getting to Konoha. Dawn was in a few hours. He intended to be back by then. So he pushed forward, through the dark, dense forests. He would save Rin. No matter what.

6:30 AM – Konohagakure – Hokage's Office

Two figures kneeled before the Hokage's desk. Hiruzen inspected both of them.

To his left, knelt a taller than average man, wearing a unique cloak, and with brilliant blonde hair. The man was feared in all the Great Shinobi Nations, and throughout the shinobi world. Many antions had designated him an S-class enemy, with a 'Flee on Sight' declaration. The man's real name was Namikaze Minato. But he was known to the world as the "Yellow Flash of the Leaf." Arguably the fastest man alive, and one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, Minato had just come back from a successful battle with Iwagakure.

Hiruzen turned to his right. To his right, knelt a woman of average height, in the traditional grey outfit of an anbu member, with a fox mask. Hiruzen sighed. He wished she hadn't been so obvious. But, of course, he knew she would just have to pick the one mask he had forbade her from wearing. But it didn't really matter what her mask looked like. Her hair was an immediate giveaway. The bright red hair had helped earn her her notorious nickname, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. He was, in fact, referring to Uzumaki Kushina, the jinchuriki of the nine-tails, and his best Anbu operative.

"Report."

Minato decided to start.

"The battle with Iwagakure went over well, Hokage-sama. It was a decisive victory. We were able to eliminate a large portion of their fighting forces. I estimated that they were at, at most, half-strength when they retreated. We pursued to our border before retreating."

Hiruzen nodded. It was good news. Konoha had been at war with two nations for far too long. Iwagakure and Kirigakure were both very strong nations, and with both of them fighting Konoha simultaneously, the Village Hidden in the Leaves was in a dire situation. If Iwagakure could be convinced to sign a peace treaty, or at least an armistice, Konoha could start to recover. Unfortunately, though, that did not solve the problem of Kirigakure.

"Good. How about you, _Fox_?" Underneath her mask, Kushina smirked. She knew Hiruzen hated her chosen Anbu code name. But it wasn't like anyone was going to mistake her identity. People could see her hair from halfway across the Land of Fire. Her smirk only got bigger. That just meant people had more time to run away.

"The mission was successful. The target was eliminated, with no civilian casualties. All signs of the operation were destroyed. No one was any the wiser."

Hiruzen nodded. The tide of the war seemed to have changed in just the last week. At first, Konoha was just fighting Kiri. While that was difficult, Konoha could handle itself. It was widely perceived as the single strongest shinobi nation, and for good reason.

"Were there any…incidents, on this mission?" The question was phrased delicately enough, but he could see Kushina tense up, and knew she wasn't happy. Even the other anbu in his room could feel the new tension, as a couple of them shifted uncomfortably.

"No." The answer was barely discernible. Hiruzen sighed. He had to ask. Kushina was the jinchuriki of the nine-tails, and even though she did an amazing job at keeping the beast in check, he knew that the nine-tails was still a powerful, malevolent force, and tried to get out occasionally.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Fox. It's just that I have to make sure." The anbu nodded slowly. The other hidden anbu in the room relaxed as the tension cleared.

"You know I don't mean to…" Hiruzen continued, before being cut off by a commotion outside.

"HEY! You can't go in there! Get back here!" All six people in the room, including the three hidden anbu listened attentively.

"He's heading towards the Hokage's office! Stop him!" At that point, all six shinobi, all trained killers, drew their weapons and prepared to strike whoever would come through that door.

The next five seconds felt like an eternity for all six of them. _An intruder this brazen?_, Hiruzen sighed. _I know I'm old, but seriously. Come on, I'm not called the God of Shinobi for no reason. Treat your elders with some respect._ But the commotion still worried him. The alarm hadn't gone off, so this intruder had to have slipped by the tightest security in the most highly secured building in the village. _Whoever this was had to be quite the powerful shinobi._ But Hiruzen couldn't think about that anymore.

Just then, the door burst open, and a figure dressed in black landed in the middle of the room. All six ninja raised their arms, before Fox gave out a strangled yelp. Minato and Hiruzen's jaws both hit the floor. Even the three other anbu were quite confused.

"Hokage-sama! Minato-sensei! Rin needs your help! She's in danger and she's going to die if we don't go quickly!"

Hiruzen rubbed his eyes, blinked multiple times, and even went so far as to smack himself in the face a couple times. But none of it helped. He wasn't dreaming. _So…great. I'm going insane._

Uchiha Obito had just burst into the Hokage's office, seemingly returning from the dead, and was talking too.

Hiruzen was the first to move. Leaning down to pick up his pipe from where it had fallen out of his mouth and lighting it again. The young boy hadn't disappeared yet, and the other ninja also seemed convinced he was real. Hiruzen rubbed his temples. _I'm getting too old for this shit. _

Pain. That was her existence. Pain. Molten steel running through her veins. Jackhammers working inside of her skill. If she could think she would probably be afraid her brain would turn to mush. Every nerve ending was on fire. Every muscle straining, ready to explode. Raw, unadultered chakra poured through every cell of her body, more than she even knew could be contained in a human. Every cell in her body screamed in protest, as her body adjusted to whatever ungodly thing was destroying her from the inside. She tried to scream, but there was no air left in her lungs to scream with. She tried to cry, but there was no water in her eyes left to make tears. So she continued to stare at the moon, unsure if that's what the sky looked like from her current location. Because Rin was in hell. And only one thought could cross her tortured mind, repeated over and over again, until she wasn't sure if she even existed outside of this pain.

_I want to die._

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**Wow that was a ton of fun. I have so many ideas for this story that I cannot wait ot share with you guys. Hopefully you will all enjoy :) **

**Just a note: I may be a little late with the next chapter. I have important testing coming up, so I will probably have to put this on the backburner, even though this is much more fun.**

**Anyways, constructive criticism is welcome and please follow/favorite if you enjoyed. Thanks guys!**


	3. A New Jinchuriki

**Hey guys! Sorry this update took so long, but testing is finally over! I've been working on this chapter bit by bit throughout the last couple weeks, so it's a little longer than my last two chapters. I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Also! To everyone who enjoys the story, favorites or follows it, or just has something to say, please review guys! It's really helpful and allows me to know if I'm doing something wrong and what I'm doing correctly. Thanks again!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own any OCs I introduce into the series.

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6:40 AM – Hokage's office, Konohagakure

'For the love of Kami, can I have one normal, peaceful night?_' _Sarutobi Hiruzen was leaning back in his chair, puffing on his pipe, while a boy that should have been dead was standing in the middle of his office and fidgeting restlessly as one of his Anbu checked the boy over.

After a couple of tense minutes, the Anbu stepped back, looked at the Hokage, and shook her head.

"Hokage-sama, he is who he says he is. There is no sign of a henge, or any other type of jutsu." The Anbu turned to the Hokage and nodded. She then continued her inspection of the boy, presumably looking for any hidden weapons. It was still possible that the boy had been taken by an enemy of Konoha. She didn't want a surprise explosive tag to end everyone's lives. That would be unfortunate.

Fox and Minato were both still pretty shocked, and while they both wanted to embrace Obito, they waited until after the Anbu had finished her inspection of the boy. It was true that someone might have saved Obito in order to use him as a weapon. Minato had heard the report from Kakashi and read the report from the team that inspected the battlefield afterwards. The squad sent out never found Obito's body, but there was signs of blood under a boulder, just as Kakashi had told him. Minato thought that some other group could have taken his body, but he still wasn't sure how he had survived. After all, he had been _crushed under a freaking boulder._

In fact, that was the only reason the Uchiha hadn't thrown a temper tantrum. Obito had given one sharingan to Kakashi, but he still had his other. If Minato hadn't been able to convince Fugaku that Obito had been crushed, he was afraid Fugaku would go out himself to find whoever took the body. Minato sighed, still confused by the whole thing. Don't get him wrong, he loved the fact that Obito was back. He had always liked the fact that he never gave up and was pretty cheerful. But it still complicated things. Minato didn't like it when things didn't add up. And his student returning from the dead certainly didn't add up.

Fox, better known as the legendary Kunoichi, Uzumake Kushina, was also holding herself back from running to Obito. He had always been her favorite member of Minato's team. She had been devastated when she heard he had sacrificed himself to save Kakashi. After Kakashi had somewhat recovered from his friend's death, she was ready to tear him apart, but she had been able to calm herself down and have a decent conversation with him. She was impressed by Kakashi, but she never liked him. He was an insufferable prick. Now that he was a jonin, she didn't have to go easy on him. He had always treated Obito like shit, so she was surprised Obito had given him his sharingan. And she wanted to make sure he understood the power he had been granted.

4 Months Earlier – Konohagakure

Kakashi was walking down the street, hands in his pockets, inspecting the ground. He had pulled inward after Obito's death. He had never been a very social person, but losing yet another person in his life had made him nearly completely shut down. The only people he would talk to were Minato-sensei and Rin, neither of whom got much more than a few words out of him. He had only started leaving his apartment again a couple of weeks ago, mostly due to the fact that he had nothing left to eat and his stomach was grumbling so loudly he was afraid he'd wake up his neighbors.

Kakashi frequently imagined hearing or seeing Obito. He knew it had something to do with the fact that, even though he had always been terrible to Obito, he still thought of Obito as a comrade. No, more than a comrade. _A friend. _Kakashi didn't have many of those. His attitude had pushed many people away. And while he and Obito were rivals and didn't always get along, they were still friends.

So if he thought he heard or saw something unusual, he would shrug it off. But this time was different. This hallucination was following him for a much longer distance than anything else he had imagined. Most of the time, a shake of his head and the silent treatment would make the images go away. But this one was clearly following him. Kakashi made a number of quick turns down some side streets, and before he knew it, he was in one of the old districts of Konoha.

The houses were much larger than those in other parts of the village. They were also set far back from the road, and most had some kind of wall or foliage blocking the view of it. Privacy was valuable, and expensive. Kakashi didn't know how he got here, but if it wasn't for the person following him, he would have turned around. One of these houses belonged to his own family. 'Well, I guess now it belongs to me.' Kakashi sighed again. His mother had died and his father had committed suicide, both when he was young. He hadn't known his mother well, but his father's death had taken a toll on him. He was the one who had found his father dead. Kakashi tried to push away the mental images and focus again on why he was here.

'Ah yes, the weird person following me.' Kakashi nonchalantly looked around, eye peeled for anything out of the ordinary. He was getting close to a rather large compound on the left, when it happened. It was barely there, just a whisper in the wind. Kakashi barely had time to open his eye wide in surprise before he was knocked out by a woman with red hair in an anbu mask. The woman looked around, then scooped up the boy's body and disappeared into the compound.

It took a few minutes before Kakashi woke up and was able to get a sense of his surroundings. He was in a house, on a mat on the floor. Most of the house was very well furnished, with very expensive furniture and decorations around. Kakashi was impressed. His family had a clan house, and while he didn't use it due to the bad memories, it had been large by almost any standards. But this place was huge. He looked out the window to his side and saw multiple other houses. If he had been a little more lucid, he would probably have spent some time exploring. But he still had no idea how he had even gotten here, and who had done this to him. He reached for his weapons, but they weren't there. 'This isn't good.' Just then, he felt another presence enter the room, and whipped around.

The woman standing in the doorway was probably in her early twenties. She had red hair, cut short, in a bob cut. She was tall, a few inches taller than Kakashi, and was wearing a traditional kimono. She was carrying a tray, but Kakashi was more focused on her dark blue eyes. He didn't realize eyes could be that color. The woman, seeing his gaze, met his eyes, and a few moments later Kakashi looked away. The woman had to stifle a chuckle. 'Boys are always the same,' she thought, as she walked towards the kid sitting on the floor.

"Hi, how are you?" The woman asked cheerfully as she placed the tray down next to Kakashi. Kakashi was still out of it, so it took him a few moments to compose himself.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Kakashi watched the woman closely. She didn't seem hostile, but he could never be sure. Especially since someone had kidnapped him.

"I'm well, thank you for asking." The woman smiled again, causing Kakashi to blush slightly. This time, she did chuckle aloud.

"You should eat and drink." She gestured towards the tray she had left next to Kakashi. He eyed it suspiciously before turning to the woman again.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?" Kakashi narrowed his eye. His hitai-ite was still covering his sharingan, and his mask covered most of his face, but he was still able to express most emotions through his eyes.

The woman laughed.

"So many questions. But I guess those are deserved. My name is Uzumaki Aya. You are in the Uzumaki compound in Konoha. As to why you are here…" Aya glanced around before turning back towards Kakashi, "well, one of my friends wanted to talk to you." Kakashi, still confused, tried to piece together the information he had.

"So you're the one who kidnapped me?" Aya looked confused for a moment before laughing. Kakashi was bewildered at this point. 'What the hell is going on?'

Once Aya stopped laughing, she responded, "Of course I didn't kidnap you. I don't want to talk you. _My friend _wants to talk to you." She smiled again, only making Kakashi blush more, and shift uncomfortably under her gaze, which only made her start laughing again. Aya was getting a kick out of his reactions.

But Kakashi still didn't know who wanted to see him.

"Who is your friend?" Kakashi needed to get out of here. He didn't like the fact that his weapons were all gone, and his head still throbbed from whatever was used to knock him out.

Aya frowned momentarily and looked over her shoulder.

"Give me one second."

Aya walked back towards the hallway she had come from as Kakashi watcher go and then disappear around one of the corners. He turned back towards the food and tea that Aya had set down. After a few suspicious sniffs, Kakashi decided they weren't poisonous and started to eat and drink.

It was a few minutes before Aya returned. Kakashi had finished the food and tea, not realizing how hungry he was. But now he turned to Aya and awaited her response.

"My friend will see you know." Kakashi's eye narrowed suspiciously again. He did not have a good feeling about this. But he followed Aya anyways.

After a couple of turns, Aya stopped outside of a nondescript door. She knocked a couple of times.

"You may enter," a voice responded. Aya nodded and turned to Kakashi.

"Good luck," she smiled and rustled his hair, only earning her another evil eye from Kakashi as he fixed his perfectly maintained silver hair.

Once he had fixed himself, he opened the door, and his visible eye widened.

"Kushina-sama!" Uzumaki Kushina, Minato-sensei's wife, was sitting cross-legged on the floor, in a meditation pose. A small smirk was present on her lips, as she met Kakashi's eyes. Unfortunately for Kakashi, there was no motherly love or compassion there.

"Sit." The firmness of the command caused Kakashi to flinch slightly. 'What did I do?' He ran through scenarios in his head, but he still didn't understand. So he just followed the directions, and sat a few feet in front of Kushina. Kushina glared at him, and Kakashi could only gulp, as he stared down the deadliest Anbu in the village.

"Do you know why you're here?" Kakashi's head started throbbing again and he had to focus hard to even be able to think clearly. He had just been walking when suddenly he had been blinded by pain and then everything went black.

"Did someone knock me out?" Kakashi asked. The smirk on Kushina's face grew slightly, but she was able to control herself.

"Yes." That was the red-heads only response. Kakashi sighed. He wasn't getting the information he needed, but hopefully he could learn more about what happened.

"Did you save me?" Kakashi asked curiously, rubbing the lump on the back of his head.

That was the last straw.

"I WAS THE ONE WHO KNOCKED YOU OUT YOU BAKA!" Kushina yelled at Kakashi. She also unintentionally flared her killing intent, which made Kakashi look like he was about to shit his pants. It didn't matter if Kakashi had known her for a few years, or that she was the wife of his sensei. She was known as the Red Hot-blooded Habanero for a reason, and the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, so her killing intent was fearsome.

Kakashi had gone pale, and Kushina had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself before continuing.

"I needed to talk to you, but you have been quite evasive recently." She eyed Kakashi for a reaction. He seemed to find the floor very interesting at the moment. But Kushina would not be deterred.

"I know you've been suffering since Obito's de…"

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!" Kakashi had jumped up, tears in his visible eye, as he shouted at Kushina.

To Kushina's credit, she didn't react, except to give Kakashi a look of pity.

"He was my teammate! No, my friend! He believed in me! And he gave his own life to save mine! How could you understand that?" Kakashi was on the verge of crying and was shaking. Kushina sat there for a few moments.

"You're not the only one in this village who has lost comrades. Or friends." Kakashi had stopped and was looking at Kushina. The words had a very somber and regretful undertone that was easily discernible. Kushina then looked up and met Kakashi's eyes, fixing him with a firm stare.

"And he won't be the last person you lose. Hopefully this war will be over before you lose anyone else, but no one can guarantee that. And you must be prepared for that." Kushina understood Kakashi's pain. This war had gone on too long. She sighed and continued.

"But he's not totally gone, is he?"

Kakashi was startled at her question, but responded, if only in nothing more than a whisper.

"No, I guess he's not." Kakashi slowly lifted his headband to accentuate his point, as he revealed the sharingan Obito had given him. Kushina had a small smile on her face as she continued.

"You're right, he's not. But what would he want you to do with his eye? Let it go to waste by wallowing in your despair and depression? Or going out and doing your best to protect your comrades and friends and helping end this war as quickly as possible?"

Kushina had been able to pierce the heart of the issue, and Kakashi was not ready for someone to call him out on his actions. He slowly sat back down and contemplated Kushina's words for a minute before responding.

"Obito…would want me…to protect Rin and…everybody else." He struggled to get the words out, but once he did, a weight he didn't realize he was carrying, seemed to lift off of his shoulders.

Now Kushina did smile.

"And that gift he gave you is special, you know that right?" Kakashi wasn't looking directly at Kushina, but he still nodded. Kushina smiled. Maybe he wasn't such a baka after all.

"Good. Now go out there and make Obito proud." Kushina could have sworn Kakashi stiffened momentarily at that, but it was too quick for her to know for sure. Anyways, Kakashi slowly got up and made his way to the door, stopping before he opened the door.

"Kushina-sama."

Kushina looked somewhat caught off guard by his voice. "uh…yes?"

"…Thank you."

Kakashi opened the door before waiting for a response. But Kushina didn't care. She was relieved, and happy. 'At least I got through to him. That's at least a step forward.' She sighed. There was still plenty of work to do. But it seemed Kakashi did understand the sacrifice Obito had made for him.

6:45 AM – Hokage's office, Konohagakure

Obito was still standing there, looking quite out of breath. He had just sprinted across the Land of Fire for hours in order to get here as soon as possible. He didn't want to leave Rin again, but he was confident Kakashi could protect her. He was more concerned about finding someone who could help save her. Rin was not doing well when he left. He just hoped she wasn't doing any worse. He shuddered just thinking about it.

The Anbu was finishing up her inspection of the boy. She had heard his name before. Uchiha Obito. She vaguely remembered hearing about the boy before. She thought that he had been killed. Crushed under a boulder was the cause of death. She wasn't sure how this kid was alive, but he clearly had signs of damage. Hell, one of his arms was missing, and the right side of his face looked somewhat messed up. But what intrigued her was the fact that the stump where his right arm was felt weird. When she looked closer, she realized it looked nothing like a human arm. It was white, and felt somewhat clay-ey. 'If that's even a weird.' The Anbu snorted and turned around.

"No weapons found Hokage-sama. He is completely clean."

The anbu barely had time to get out of the way before Fox barreled into Obito and smothered him in a hug.

"Oh thank Kami you're okay! We thought you were dead!" The other occupants in the room shuffled, slightly uncomfortable at Kushina's antics. Though Minato was watching carefully, since he was pretty sure she was going to break a few of Obito's ribs if she squeezed any tighter.

Obito, while shocked at the woman's reaction, had more pressing matters.

"Anbu-sama…I…can't breathe." He wheezed out. Immediately, Fox let Obito go and held him at arm's length, which only made Obito feel weirder and more self-conscious. 'You know, I kinda miss when no one paid attention to me. This is ridiculous.'

Beneath her mask, Kushina was battling with her emotions. Part of her was still happy he was alive and here. But another part of her was shocked, no, angry, at the clear damage to his body. The right side of his face had been reconstructed, but it still looked unnatural, drooping slightly in places. But it was what was beneath his cloak that truly angered and saddened her.

Obito had lost one of his arms.

It was a realization that hurt Kushina more than she would show, and she was quite happy that she had a mask on so that no one else could witness her turmoil. Her first thought was to go out and murder every single one of the shinobi responsible for Obito's condition.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

"Obito-kun," Kushina breathed out. "…How have you been?" Kushina huffed behind her mask. 'Wow, that was a freaking lame question.' But she didn't know what to say? 'Hey! Obito! Welcome back from the dead!' Nope, that would be weird.

Obito, bless his soul, took it all in stride.

"I'm doing well Anbu-sama! But…that doesn't matter right now! Rin is hurt and… needs help! We need to go! NOW!" Obito was practically panting. He was clearly exhausted. He also didn't seem to give a damn about his condition.

Minato sighed. This was gonna be a long day.

"Obito, calm down. We need you to explain the situation." Minato used his sensei voice, which got Obito's attention almost immediately. "As you can probably imagine, seeing someone who is supposed to be dead barge into your room screaming is somewhat, unsettling."

Obito paled at that, before blushing and rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, ha, sorry about that." Obito responded sheepishly. "It's just that Rin needs our help." He trailed off for a second before turning deathly serious. "She's in trouble, and we need to go help her as soon as possible."

Hiruzen nooded grimly in his chair. Rin had been abducted during a patrol a few days ago, apparently by ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Kakashi and a group of chunin had been sent out to find and recover her. If she was in trouble, well,… Hiruzen sighed. There was no telling what the Mist did to her. They were not known for being gentle with prisoners, let alone abductees. He only hoped she wasn't doing awfully.

7:00 AM – Clearing inside of the Land of Fire

Kakashi hated feeling helpless. There were times in his past when he had been helpless. Helpless to stop his father from killing himself. Helpless to protect Rin and save Obito. Kakashi's fists tightened as he tried to stave off the dark memories that came whenever he thought of his past. He took a deep breath. Obito was alive, somehow. And Rin. Well…

Kakashi glanced over to his left, where Rin was still lying. She was no longer rithing and screaming, which at least was a bit of progress. But she had an extremely high fever, and was clearly in pain. Toshie was doing his best to care for her and ease her pain, but there was only so much he could do out here in the field. And it wasn't like they could move her. If Toshie wasn't extremely gentle with her, she would let out another bloodcurdling scream as her pain flared.

And there was no way he could force her to endure that for hours as they rushed her back to Konoha.

Honestly, he wasn't even sure she would survive the journey.

And still, her condition was a mystery. Toshie had noticed signs of some _other _chakra in her system. Although what this _other _chakra was, was still a mystery. There was also the weird seal that they had seen inside her. Then again, Kakashi had no idea what the hell that was either.

Kakashi had to physically restrain himself from punching the ground repeatedly out of frustration.

'What have I done wrong? I've followed every shinobi rule. Hell, I made jonin at 13. That's extremely rare. I'm one of the deadliest ninja in Konoha. But…' Kakashi again looked over at the frail girl to his left. He was still useless. Kakashi looked towards the horizon, as the rising sun began to bathe the clearing in morning light.

Obito, you better hurry. We need you.

7:00 AM – Hokage's Office, Konohagakure

"And then Rin started screaming and collapsed. We tried to help her, but there was nothing we could do. She had some weird seal thingy in her. So I rushed back here to get you Minato-sensei, since you're really good at seals. And we probably need a medic as well."

Minato was still contemplating Obito's story. 'It was, how do you put this,…well, unsettling, to say the least.' Not to mention the fact that Minato had heard the rumors about the Hidden Mist's experimentations with jinchuriki. Minato shuddered. He could only hope that his worst fears would not come true.

But if it was true, then Rin would need help as soon as possible. And he was arguably the only person, besides Jiraiya, who could help her.

"Hokage-sama, I believe that I should go with Obito to help Rin." Minato-sensei met Hiruzen's gaze, communicating silently. This was the best shot he had. And he was not going to lose one of his students after just getting one back.

Hiruzen rubbed his temples. The war wasn't over yet, and he couldn't really spare his greatest weapon. The battle with Iwa was getting out of hand. Iwa was encroaching on Land of Fire lands. And they desperately needed someone to help. And the best candidate was obviously the Yellow Flash of the Leaf.

'Then again,' Hiruzen contemplated as he stared back at Minato, 'there was no way he was going to be able to stop him from going. And perhaps this clearing would be close enough to the border that he could help his student and then join the battle.' He sighed.

"Fine, Minato. You may go with your student." Hiruzen stated, in a resigned fashion. "But take Fox with you." To Fox's credit, he could tell she was completely unsurprised and was most likely brandishing her trademark smirk under her mask. She was insufferable. "Unfortunately we have no medics available for this mission. The battle with Iwa has taken a turn for the worse." He could feel Minato and the others' tension at that, but it was the truth. "And I want you to join the battle with Iwa once you have helped the girl. Understood?" The last word left no room for discussion.

Minato and Fox both nodded. Obito was almost bouncing on the soles of his feet as he was ready to go, forgetting all about his prior exhaustion. Hiruzen had to smile just a little at that.

"Well then, be gone."

Minato, Fox, and Obito all nodded. Minato and Fox grabbed hold of Obito, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hiruzen got up, turned around, and gazed out the window at the rising sun, and the buildings of Konoha spread out in front of him.

"I think it's about time we end this war."

8:15 AM – Clearing inside Land of Fire

'Damn. I knew Minato-sensei was fast, but I didn't realize he was _this fast_.' Somehow, Minato, Fox, who he confirmed was Kushina, and he had gotten all the way to the clearing in just over an hour, as opposed to the multiple hours it took him sprinting in order to get to the Hokage's tower. By using a clever combination of his trademark Hiraishin no Jutsu, the Shunshin no Jutsu, and just flat out speed, Minato had been able to get them to the clearing in record time.

And that was good, since Obito was not exaggerating Rin's condition in the slightest.

She looked awful. Her fever hadn't come down, and she was shaking somewhat uncontrollably. Her occasional muscle spasms and screams only made it worse. Hell, Minato was surprised other ninja hadn't found them earlier due to her cries of pain.

Kushina was talking to Toshie, the chunin medic of the group, about Rin's condition. And, based on her facial expressions, Rin was getting worse.

Kakashi, upon seeing his sensei, and his sensei's wife in Anbu armor, was extremely relieved. He was willing to help in any way, although he was somewhat disappointed when Minato told him to just patrol the outskirts of the clearing while he helped Rin. Kakashi still felt rather useless, but, well, he _was_. There was nothing he could do.

Minato was kneeling over Rin, attempting to do a diagnosis. Kakashi had told him that they had felt some kind of corrupted seal in Rin, which could be causing her condition. He wasn't entirely sure that any kind of seal could do this…but still, he had to try. He moved his hand above Rin's body, starting from her feet, up to her waist, and then…

Minato's eyes shot open.

'_What in the name of Kami is that?'_

Around Rin's stomach was some kind of seal that was leaking a strange chakra at an alarming pace. Minato could feel it interacting with Rin's chakra, disrupting her chakra and causing her pain. There was clearly a seal there, but it was definitely corrupted, decomposing unnaturally, and letting whatever chakra it held out.

Minato had to restrain himself from going over to Kiri and murdering every shinobi there. Who would do this to someone? _Especially_ someone like Rin. Minato somehow found the ability to smile just a little at the memories of Rin keeping the peace between Kakashi and Obito and making sure they were okay.

'Still, what do I do?'

'Well,' Minato thought, 'first thing's first: I need to repair this seal.' Minato gingerly lifted part of Rin's shirt up, exposing her stomach. 'Thank Kami sensei isn't the one doing this.' Minato shuddered at that thought.

Minato was widely known as arguably the greatest fuinjutsu user alive. There were very few shinobi in the world who could match him.

Then again, the seal on Rin was a rather complex one, even in his experience. He guessed there were about three layers, based upon the seal's design. Then again, the seal was so corrupted and was decomposing so quickly that it was difficult to assume anything. Minato grimaced. It was unlikely he would be able to repair this seal. But he could stabilize it, and then replace the seal. 'Although, I need to know what this chakra is.'

Minato stretched his senses out. He wasn't a sensory type shinobi, but after years of training to find hidden shinobi in the midst of battle, he had developed a rather acute sense of chakra. He extended his senses in towards the seal on Rin's stomach. Rin shifted uncomfortably, but Minato pressed on. His chakra slowly maneuvered through the remnants of the seal, and the foreign chakra got stronger and stronger, until…

Minato's body recoiled. He pulled his chakra back instinctively. He didn't even make a conscious decision, hadn't even thought it through, but his body knew what that chakra was. Minato closed his eyes and once again had to stifle the massive wave of unrestrained killing intent that was brewing inside of him. He had only felt that kind of chakra once before. He glanced over at Kushina, who was still talking to Toshie, obviously trying to learn as much about what happened as possible. Obito was hovering by them, looking nervous as well. Minato clenched his fists.

'To put _that_ inside a girl as young as Rin?' Minato knew that Kiri was a sick and twisted place, but this was a new low.

But at least now he knew what to do.

"Kushina-san, I need your help." Kushina looked up to see Minato, deadly serious, looking expectedly towards her. Kushina was aware of Rin's condition, but didn't realize Minato had done a diagnosis of the girl. 'And if he is this worried and serious after doing a diagnosis, then I can't imagine what they did to Rin.' Kushina had to stamp out some of her motherly instinct before responding. She had always liked Rin. The girl was always kind and caring, and always put others first. They were attributes she hoped her child would one day have. And to see her like this? Kushina was ready to kill someone.

But she couldn't do that right now. She walked over to Minato. "What's wrong with her?" She asked.

Minato sighed. "There is a seal on her, and it's corrupted and decomposing. A foreign chakra is interacting with Rin's chakra and causing her this pain."

Kushina looked confused. "A foreign chakra? Like, what kind of foreign chakra?"

Minato did not respond immediately, rather clenching his fist even tighter than before.

"A tailed beast."

The clearing seemed to grow deathly quiet. Minato had only whispered the sentence, but Kushina was pretty sure everyone had heard him somehow. 'What kind of sick fuck would put a _tailed beast_ in a _14 year old girl_?' Kushina was so angry that she could barely keep her voice from breaking.

"What do you need me to do?" Kushina wanted answers, but most of all, she wanted to know how to save the girl that she had spent so many days talking and bonding with. She wanted to know how to save the girl she hoped would be a role model for her child.

"I need you to give me some of the Kyuubi's chakra. I need it to subdue the beast while I get rid of the current seal and replace it with the eight-trigrams." Kushina blinked. 'The eight-trigrams? Was that the Uzumaki's ultimate sealing jutsu?' Kushina knew that Minato had been researching the Uzumaki sealing records in order to build a new seal for her tailed beast. She didn't know many of the details, but she had helped him with part of the design. But there was another problem.

"I don't know if I can give you the Kyuubi's chakra." Kushina sounded ashamed, even though there was nothing to be ashamed about. While she was the jinchuriki, and she could use some of the Kyuubi's power, because small bits of it leaked out, and the Kyuubi seemed to like her more than its previous jinchuriki, she had no idea if she could transfer it to another person.

Minato sighed. 'This isn't going well.' "Can you try? Maybe, can you ask it?" Kushina didn't think she would be more shocked at the moment. 'He wants me to talk to the Kyuubi? Ugh, wonderful. Just freaking wonderful.'

"I'll try." Kushina closed her eyes and drew her chakra inward, concentrating on calling out to the tailed beats trapped in her body. After about ten seconds, she opened her eyes, and was standing in front of a massive red fox chained to a stone. The fox opened its eyes, and glared down at Kushina.

"And what do you want?" Kushina still wasn't entirely sure how something so _big_ was trapped inside of her. Hell, one of the Kyuubi's eyes was bigger than Kushina. And it was inside of her. Kushina shuddered just a little whenever she thought about it. But she steeled herself and met the beast's gaze.

"I need some of your chakra." Kushina waited for a second, before peeking her eyes open to look up at the Kyuubi. At first it looked incredulous, before throwing its head back and roaring in laughter. A tic mark appeared over Kushina's eye.

"Hey! What the hell's so funny? I don't need a lot! Just a little! And the only reason I need it is to subdue another tailed beast!" Kushina blinked. 'Shit, I wasn't supposed to say that last part.' Then again, the Kyuubi stopped laughing and peered down curiously at its jailor.

"You want my power to subdue one of my brethren?" 'Was that curiosity I heard?' Kushina was somewhat taken aback by the fox's sudden and dramatic change in behavior. Then again, 'didn't Mito say that the fox can be arrogant?' A sly smirk appeared on Kushina's lips.

"Well of course! You're the most powerful of the tailed beasts, am I wrong?" Kushina breathed out in an overly dramatic fashion. When the fox bared its teeth, Kushina was somewhat afraid that it was going to try and eat her. '…Wait,…I think it's smiling.' Kushina shivered. That was even more unsettling.

"Fine. I will grant you some of my power this time." Kushina's eyes went wide. 'That worked?' Kushina's smirk returned. 'Damn, he's even easier to play than Minato.' She snorted at that thought, before realizing she had left the fox hanging. She bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Kyuubi. You will not regret this."

The fox hmphed in response, before Kushina opened her eyes and was back at Minato's side.

Minato looked up at her expectantly. Kushina nodded. Minato nodded in return, then turned back to Rin.

Minato took a few steadying breaths, before beginning a series of hand signs. Normally, Minato would not need hand signs to perform fuinjutsu. He was capable of creating seals without them. But this seal was a new seal. 'It's also the only seal I know that will be able to restrain a tailed beast. However, if it works correctly, it could give Rin a huge amount of power.' Minato closed his eyes again, finishing the hand signs, and extended his hand to Rin's stomach, pushing his chakra towards the seal once again.

He would have to deconstruct the seal, and then make a new seal in an extremely short period of time, otherwise the tailed beats inside Rin could escape, killing all of them instantly. 'That was probably Kiri's plan,' Minato thought darkly.

The seal deconstruction was going well. While the seal was multi-layered, it was not as complex as he had first thought. He also learned it had a time component on it, and was most likely scheduled to decompose after a certain period of time, confirming Minato's hypothesis. Minato grimaced and kept on, before reaching the final layer. He could feel the chakra, a massive amount of it, just below his hand.

He was going to make a sign to Kushina, but she seemed to have sensed it as well. She placed her hands on his back, and he felt the chakra flood into his body. At first, the familiar feel of Kushina's chakra: warm and inviting. But then, he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra swirling around inside of him: dark, malevolent, and extremely powerful. Minato took another steadying breath, and began to direct the Kyuubi's chakra towards the tailed beast inside of Rin.

The collision of the chakras was spectacular. He could feel the chakra in Rin surge against the Kyuubi's, and he was somewhat worried that Rin could be seriously hurt or killed by the amount of energy that was being released. But he didn't sense any change in her condition. 'Thankfully.'

Minato waited until he felt the chakras stabilize. The Kyuubi's chakra was keeping the other tailed beast's charka in check, allowing Minato to prepare for the eight trigrams seal. First, he summoned the sealing altar, and gingerly placed Rin on it, careful not to disturb the girl's fragile body.

Then, while maintaining the flow of the Kyuubi's chakra, Minato finished the preparation for the sealing jutsu and placed his palm on Rin's stomach.

"Hakke no Fuin Shiki."

The reaction was violent. The tailed beast, seemingly aware of the fact that it was being sealed again, fought viciously against Minato. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead as he used the Kyuubi to try and fight the tailed beast. He could feel the seal slowly close in on the tailed beast.

But he struggle continued. The brutal battle of wills swung back and forth between Minato and the Kyuubi and the tailed beast inside Rin. A sensei trying to save his pupil, and a beast trying to win its freedom. Minato felt Kushina tense, and then felt more of the Kyuubi's chakra enter his body, and he quickly used it to subdue the beast.

Another bead of sweat appeared on Minato's forehead. 'Just a few more seconds.'

He could feel the tailed beats writhing inside the seal, trying desperately to escape. But then, he felt the seal lock in place. The tension slowly drained out of Minato's shoulders.

'It's done.'

Minato looked up at Rin. She seemed to be doing better. She was no longer spasming, and did not seem to be in pain. She seemed to be sleeping rather peacefully. Minato smiled.

'It's over. Thank Kami it's over.'

* * *

**So, this chapter was a bit disjointed and I'm not entirely happy with the way it played out. Leave a review if you have any thoughts. Thanks again guys, and I hope to be updating this story more regularly!**


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